Annie Dillard MC Practice

Annie Dillard MC Practice

Multiple Choice

All of the following are present in the opening sentence EXCEPT:

• A. subordinate clauses

• B. an objective tone

• C. elements in a series

• D. typical narrative opening

• E. more verbs than nouns or adjectives

Multiple Choice

The “fried” in line 8 derives force from which of the following?

I. Its commonplace associations

II. Its location in the sentence

III. Its alliterative associations with the verbs that precede it

• A. II only

• B. I and II only

• C. I and III only

• D. II and III only

• E. I, II, and III

Multiple Choice

The objects of the verb “creating” (line 10) combine to form an impression of

• A. familiar reality imposed on an unfamiliar local

• B. sudden color in a formerly monochromatic scene

• C. miraculous isolation in a hostile environment

• D. ominous fragility in a threatening episode

• E. supernatural inspiration of creative thought

Multiple Choice

The phrase “gone the long way of her wings and legs” (line 22) emphasizes the

• A. unusual proportions of the moth

• B. unexpected course of the moth’s death

• C. irrevocable disappearance of the moth’s head

• D. rapidity with which the fire consumed the moth

• foulness of the lingering smoke and burned head

Multiple Choice

All of the following are true of the sentence “She kept burning” (lines 30-31) EXCEPT:

• A. its brevity makes it emphatic

• B. in context, its tone is one of awed fascination

• C.in context, the word “burning” means “avenging”

• D. the feminine pronoun links the image to the specificity of the previous paragraph

• E. the feminine pronoun humanizes the moth, in preparation for references to martyrs

Multiple Choice

In the second and third paragraphs, the speak focuses on the moth as

• A. a specimen embodying qualities inherent in all moths

• a reflection of her own past experiences

• essentially a creation of her own imagination

• something more than a moth, both literally and figuratively

• an innocent victim of human passivity

Multiple Choice

Which of the following prepare the reader for the image of the "immolating monk" (line 35)?

I. "spectacular skeleton" (lines 32-33)

II. "Jagged hole" (lines 32-33)

III. "saffron-yellow flame" (line 34)

IV. "robed" (line 34)

• A. I and II only

• B. I and III only

• C. III and IV only

• D. II, III, and IV only

• E. I, II, III, and IV

Multiple Choice

The repetition of "She burned for two hours" (lines 38 and 39) serves all of the following functions EXCEPT to

• A. provide a transition between the second and third paragraphs

• B. imply that the passage of time has several different meanings

• C. maintain the idea that the burning object has a noteworthy persistence

• D. focus the reader's attention on the burning moth

• E. dramatize the narrator's fixation on the duration of the event

Multiple Choice

In line 44, "kindled" is best interpreted to mean

• A. relaxed

• B. angered

• C. enamored

• D. betrayed

• E. inspired

Multiple Choice

The image of the poet Rimbaud expands the meaning of the description of the burning moth to include the

• A. futility of excess in a world governed by physical laws

• B. self-destructive yet self-perpetuating passion of the artist

• C. selfishness of those who would use the light of others to find truth

• D. power of the intellect over human behavior

• E. necessity of recording and analyzing mystical experiences

Multiple Choice

In which of the following lines is the use of alliterative word to heighten the intensity of the description most evident?

• A. 1-2

• B. 15-17

• C. 23-24

• D. 24-28

• E. 34-37

Multiple Choice

Which of the following best describes the rhetorical development of the passage as a whole?

• A. Progress from exposition to argument

• B. Development from hypothesis to proof

• C. transition from sympathetic narrative to objective description

• D. expansion from descriptive narration to poetic meditation

• E. movement from contemplative rumination to active participation